TRANSCENDENT
by dancetillyoupuke
Summary: 'Every betrayal contains a perfect moment, a coin stamped heads or tails with salvation on the other side.' The first war through the eyes of the Order... DISCLAIMER: Everything you recognise belongs to JKR


**A/N:- Helloss! I'm back! I know I need to update my other story, which I'm definitely not abandoning btw. But this idea had been in my head for ages and I couldn't wait to get it written. Read and review!**

**PROLOGUE**

_The most precious treasures are often the simplest._

Life isn't about keeping score. It's all about choosing your life to touch someone else's in a way that could never have been achieved otherwise. Life is all about choices. James Potter had made some tough choices in that past few months. He remembered in vivid detail the panicky feeling that had gripped him when Dumbledore had told him about Voldemort targeting his family. He remembered Lily's terrified face, the string of colorful profanities Sirius had dished out, Remus' reassuring demeanor and Peter's determined composure. He did not fear death. He had been in the Order for too long and had seen too many of his friends die to be afraid of the inevitable. But as he watched his wife and son laugh at some shared joke he realized he was afraid for them. He was scared shitless of losing his Lily, of his son Harry getting hurt, of his friends disappearing. He was terrified.

As he mulled over the last conversation he had had with Sirius, a tiny smile spread across his face.

"We'll get through this, Prongs", he had said. "It's going to take more than an evil crackpot to kill us."

_Yes,_ he decided. Ugly Mr. Red Eyes was going down. He hadn't risked everything just to lose it all. After all, it had been prophesized that his son would kill the bastard. _Ha,_ he thought._ Take that you asswipe. You'll be snuffed out by a kid. _My_ kid._

The smile grew wider as he remembered Peter suggesting the switch of Secret Keepers in the rare stroke of utter brilliance. He wasn't the brightest galleon in the pile but he was willing to risk everything for his friends. He felt a rush of gratitude at Peter's bravery.

"Wormtail finally decided to grow a pair," Sirius had exulted. Nobody had been been notified about the switch on Sirius' insistence, not even Remus. Sirius had made no secret of his suspicions and although James was convinced of Remus' innocence, he had decided to heed his advice.

He was shaken out of his reverie as his one-year-old son waddled into the room, dressed up for Halloween as a bright golden snitch. Lily walked behind him, snapping pictures and laughing at how ridiculous her son looked.

"Seriously James! What were you thinking? That costume is ridiculous!"

"Rubbish!" he exclaimed. "He looks perfect!" He picked up Harry in his arms. "Tell your mother to stop laughing at the brilliant quidditch star in the making, Harry. He'll be a seeker", he told Lily who smiled at her husband's exuberance. "Wait till he handles a broom", he continued. "I'll get him the best racing broom and maybe he'll be so good that he might make the team in his first year!"

Lily laughed again. "Maybe he won't play at all", she teased. "Maybe he'll take after his mother and stay away from flying objects all together."

James' mouth dropped open in mock outrage. "Impossible", he declared. "How else will he find the girl of his dreams? You _do_ remember that you snogged me for the first time on the pitch, right?"

Lily went faintly pink at the memory and stuck out her tongue at him in retaliation. Harry gurgled happily at his mother's childishness and followed suit. James pinched his cheek affectionately and struck a pose for a picture.

"Okay Harry", Lily said. "You've had your fun. It's time for bed", she held out her arms for him crawl into.

Harry frowned. Being a snitch was fun and he also wanted to chase the cat with his new toy broomstick. According to his childish reasoning the fun got over when everyone went home but here the party hadn't even started.

"Pafoo!" he demanded. James laughed at Harry's pronunciation of _Padfoot_.

"He won't be able to come today, Harry", he told him, feeling a little upset himself. Being stuck up in a house, hiding from the wizard who wanted to kill him and his family, away from all the action was not a pleasant experience for James Potter. He grew increasingly surly at his predicament most days until Voldemort's face cropped up in his mind and he was reminded of the threat he presented. Any chance of a late night rendezvous was gone when Dumbledore took his invisibility cloak with him. James swore that the man could read minds.

Lily took one look at her husband's dejected face and her own smile turned into a grimace. "Padfoot will be here soon, honey. He's busy getting another awesome gift for you." The first statement was meant to appease both Harry and James.

Harry's emerald eyes, so like his mother's brightened at the word gift and he allowed himself to be taken away. Lily dressed him in a pair of navy blue pajamas and handed him to James again. She paused on her way to the kitchen to run her fingers through James' thick black locks and smiled when she heard him sigh.

"I'll prove it to you tonight that I'm better company than Padfoot", she whispered in his ear, her voice full of promsise.

_Damn_, thought James and flashed a disarming smile at her. It was easy to see why Lily had fallen for the boy she vowed to hate until death when James Potter smiled. His hazel eyes crinkled at the corners and it could light up a room like Christmas.

As Lily left to fetch Harry's bottle of milk, James produced colorful puffs of smoke from his wand for Harry's amusement who laughed delightedly as he tried to catch it between his little fingers. Lily returned with the milk and handed it to Harry who glared at her for interrupting his sport. James threw his wand down upon the sofa and stretched, yawning. He froze when he heard the front door bang open. Lily looked at him and he shrugged.

"It must be Pete, bringing in some news."

As he sprinted into the hall he caught sight of the cloaked figure. He glimpsed the blood red eyes beneath the cloak and his blood ran cold.

_It was him!_

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off-"

Voldemort gave a piercing laugh when he broke off and remembered that he didn't have a wand with him. The last thing James Potter remembered was a brilliant flash of green light and his wife's blood curdling scream before darkness took over and he fell like a marionette whose strings were cut.

Lily screamed from the upper floor when she heard a muted thud of a body hitting the ground. She ran to the door and locked it, knowing that all attempts to barricade herself in were in vain. She didn't have a wand with her either.

_And what was the point_, she wondered_. James was dead. She should be too…_

The door burst open and Voldemort cast aside the chairs and boxes hastily piled against it with a lazy flick of his wand. At the sight of him, she dropped Harry into the cot behind her and threw her arms wide, hoping to shield her son from his cold gaze.

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl….stand aside now…."

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead-"

"This is my last warning-"

"Not Harry! Please….have mercy….have mercy….Not Harry! Not Harry! Please- I'll do anything-"

A small part of her mind wondered why he was hesitating in killing her. Surely he had no qualms about killing a mudblood witch…especially not the one who had thwarted him thrice and had managed to almost disarm him once.

"Stand aside- stand aside, girl-"

Lily saw the decision in his red eyes and braced herself for the blow. Numerous faces flashed before her eyes. Harry, James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Marlene, Petunia, Severus…

_Be safe, Harry,_ she sent up a prayer for him and closed her eyes. There was a flash of bright green light and she fell like her husband.

Thousand miles away Peter Pettigrew closed his watery eyes in defeat. It was over.

**A/N:- Hit that lovely review button and make my day. :D**


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